Security Analysis and Portfolio Management - Part 1

 

Gambling is defined in Webster's Dictionary as 'An act of betting on an uncertain outcome'. Since the prospective return on investment is uncertain at the time investment is made, one may say that there is an element of gambling involved in every investment. This is particularly so in the case of those investments in respect of which little information exists at the time of investment decision. However, genuine investments cannot be labelled as gambling activities.

 

In gambling, the outcome is largely a matter of luck; no rational economic reason can be given for it. This is in contrast to what we can say about genuine investments. Unlike investors and speculators, the gamblers are risk lovers in the sense that the risk they assume is quite disproportionate to the expected reward. Though the pay-off, if won, is extraordinary, the chances of winning the bet are so slim that no risk averse individual would be willing to take the associated risk. The cricket fan's bet of Rs.100 on the outcome of test match in England (transaction 3) is an act of gambling; it is not a genuine investment.

 

It should, however, be noted that a clear demarcation between investment, speculation, and gambling is not always easy. Often it becomes a matter of degree and opinion. Aggressive investors are likely to decide on investments based, among other things, on their speculative and gambling instincts more than the defensive or conservative investors do.

 

Having understood what genuine financial investments are, let us consider the objectives sought to be fulfilled by investors seeking such investments.

 

 

Rationally stating, all personal investing is designed in order to achieve a goal, which may be tangible (e.g., a car, a house, etc.) or intangible (eg., social status, security, etc.). Goals can be classified into various types based on the way investors approach them viz:

 

 

These are goals which have a high emotional priority to the investor and he wishes to achieve these goals within a few years at the most. Eg: A new house. As a result, investment vehicles for these goals tend to be either in the forms equivalent to cash or as fixed-income instruments with maturity dates in correspondence with the goal dates. Because of the high emotional importance these goals have, investor, especially the one with moderate means will not go for any other form of investment which involves more risk especially where his goal is just in sight.

 

 

For most people, this goal is an indication of their need for financial independence at a point some years ahead in the future. Eg: Financial independence at the time of retirement or starting a fund for the higher education of a three-year old child. Normally, we find that either because of personal preference or because the discounted present value is large in relation to their resources, the time of realization for such goals is set around 60 years of age for people of moderate means. Because of the long-term nature of such goals, there is not a tendency to adopt more aggressive investment approaches except perhaps in the last 5 to 10 years before retirement. Even then, investors usually prefer a diversified approach using different classes of assets.